Reviews by bonbini26:

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2008 Reserve. Scintillating scarlet with topaz colored accents when backlit with sunshine. The firmly creamy golden beige crown was three fingers to start, looks wonderful, and is in the process of laying down a more than respectable array of sudsy lace.

The nose smells exactly like a well-crafted Flanders oud bruin brewed with Brettanomyces should smell. The wild yeast doesn't overpower the base beer and the Washington State cherries manage to have their say as well. This could be yet another world-class ale from Deschutes.

The Dissident was worth the wait. I'm not sure how it tasted fresh, but it's fandamntastic after sleeping in the cellar for the past 24 months. It will probably last at least that long from this point forward, if not longer. Not this bomber, though. This bomber is about to meet its fate in glorious fashion.

The acidity is not off the charts, which is always a boon to drinkability. There are some malt sugars running interference that add an underlying sweetness that one does not often experience in beer of this style. Tangy-tart-sour is still in the lead, as it should be.

This special release tastes more red than bruin (brown). That's probably because of the cherries and the fact that is was aged in Pinot Noir and Cabernet barrels. That intense vinousness and fruitiness is what puts it over the top for me. It's incredibly satisfying when great beer on paper turns into great beer in the glass. Brown bread and cherry preserves and red wine and farmhouse funk... oh my!

Warming allows what was meshing in the first few ounces to mesh even more seamlessly during the rest of the bottle. This offering is so complex that it's difficult to focus on just one aspect in any given mouthful. Best to just let it bathe the taste buds and revel in the result.

The mouthfeel isn't even close to letting down the rest of the beer. It's at least medium-full for the style and is much more lush and creamy than most. By the way, alcohol is buried without a trace.

Even though I had the foresight to buy several bottles of The Dissident back in '08, I was stupid enough to trade away all but this bottle. If I'm lucky enough to have access to the second release (scheduled for next month), that mistake will not be repeated. Bottom line: one of the best of 2010.

T: The taste is not as complex nor as interesting as the smell would have you to believe. It's actually quite sweet with prominent malty flavors of caramel coupled with pleasant tart fruit aromas (cherries and grapes). Complementary, somewhat clean, brett aromas and notes of mud, oak, grass and vanilla. Hints of yeast. The finish has a mild bitterness to it, brett, sweetish alcohol and dry cherry notes. I think it would have benefited from less alcohol flavors.

M: Medium, almost full body, and medium carbonation which is not how I want a Flanders Oud bruin to be - I prefer them with more carbonation. It's actually almost smooth and sticky.

D: A fairly good attempt at a style that seems hard to master outside of the boarders of Belgium. It's slightly too heavy and big to be really good. The additions from the cherries are really nice though.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was pretty bombed when I cracked this bomber...solo.I'm not a huge sour-style fan but I grabbed two of these upon release and tossed them away...until last night. Smelled like bottled Cherry Clan's...if you remember what those are. Poured a nice golden hue into a tulip glass...minimal head.Each sip got better and better...but it could also be my buzz that got better and better (its 11+%) and was super enjoyable.As I said, I'm not big into this style but if this was the benchmark, I'd be into it all day.A very enjoyable beer, even if its a month before its "best after" date.

Sour beer is the future--or at least that is what the brewers and beer geeks have been telling us over the past year or so. Deschutes has thrown their hat in the ring.

Pours out a semi-thin, latte-like froth and dissipates to a thin lacing with some good retention. Clear, tarnished-brass red color, certainly lighter in color compared to other Oud Bruins. Massive and extremely expressive aroma of peppercorn, evergreen sap, anise, lemon peel, tart cherries, vanilla beans and fresh peaches. Very smooth with a fluffy creaminess on the palate. A healthy smack of tartness on the palate ends up being very rounded rather than being a flash in the pan as it feigns tart cherry and lemon zest flavors from start almost to finish. Spice flavors are light but still a little chaotic with minty, peppery and medicinal notes from the yeast and alcohol. Speaking of alcohol, the 9 percent is very deceiving, with only a warmth in the chest as the tartness seems to numb the palate and throat for the first several sips. Small, dry kernel of maltiness in the drying, faded spicy finish.

An epic beer for the sour beer lover, between the level of sourness and light yeast funk, this beer has found a perfect balance. Way too drinkable for its size: Sip and savor with care. A bottle full of beer geek joy.

Pours brown with an off-white head. The aroma is a mix of vinegar and very tart cherries. Definitely a very good aroma. The flavor is also heavy on the cherries with some funk as well. It is definitely a sour beer, but not as sour as the aroma led me to believe it would be. You also get some oak and vanilla in the flavor. Medium to high carbonation and very drinkable.

Taste: Strong cherry, with a biting tartness. More biting than truly sour. There is both an underlying caramel sweetness and an underlying peppery dryness, which complement one another nicely. Strong oak finish.

Overall: I used to think this had too much cherry. After more experience with sours and cherry flavors, I can emphatically state that this is an exceptional beer. Not the epitome of the style, but the barrel aging is great.

Pours hazy auburn with a short off-white head. I agree with Ernest, the wax cap nearly drove me insane trying to carve off enough to open the bottle. Aroma is malty, with funky cherries and earthy wood. Not like other sours. Smooth and warm cherry, malt, oak, and vanilla. When the sour comes, it is mellow. Mostly brett and cherries, but in a vinuous/sherry way. Drinks more like a liquer than a funky, sour pucker-bomb. Excellent beer.

A welcoming aroma consisting of sweet cherries, mild vinegar, some stinging sourness, and a hint of oak.

The flavor doesn't succeed quite as admirably as the aroma. The sweet cherries and mild sourness are present and enjoyable, though there's a wet cardboard flavor throughout. Not one of my favorites, though I would drink it again.

Medium mouthfeel.

Not my favorite within the style. A sweet Flanders Oud Bruin, though there's also an unappealing wet cardboard flavor throughout.

Received this long ago in a massive trade with JohnGalt1. Thanks Toby!

Appearance- Pours a murky chestnut with some crimson coming in around the edges. Medium pour yields a nice half inch or so of slightly tanned head that dies back in fairly short order to some patches and then a ring. Small amount of lacing left as I drank and some mild beading carbonation.

Smell- Interestingly, I find the nose to be fairly barrel forward. I get a lot of wood and some slight vanilla scents off the nose, before some tart cherry and vinegar acidity.

Taste- Slightly less barrel forward than the nose but still strong presence of wood and a slight touch of vanilla mixed in with caramel malts. Tartness is not overly done but finishes on a mild note of tart fruits, in particular cherry, and a very mild touch of lactic acidity.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability- Mouthfeel is surprisingly creamy and nicely carbonated. This beer went down very easily and I found it mild in a nice way.

Overall, a solid American shot at an Oud Bruin. I liked this beer, though it is not my favorite example of the style by a stretch.